Beth Chapman is one of the many thanking comedian Jon Stewart after he gave a stirring speech to Congress on Tuesday arguing for more funding for the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.
The Dog the Bounty Hunter star retweeted a video of Stewart’s impassioned plea slamming lawmakers for failing to fund programs providing health care to the first responders.
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“Good job Jon,” Chapman tweeted. “Sad it’s gotta come to that ! #NeverForget911.”
Good job Jon Sad it’s gotta come to that ! #NeverForget911 https://t.co/l4uq536sV8
— Beth Chapman (@MrsdogC) June 13, 2019
Stewart got serious at the meeting in Congressional chambers at the meeting that was held to determine whether the fund should be reauthorized, with the former Daily Show host saying that there should be no question.
“As I sit here today, I can’t help what think what an incredible metaphor this room is for the entire process of getting health care and benefits for 9/11 first responders,” he said. “Behind me, a filled room of 9/11 first responders and in front on me, a nearly empty Congress.”
He was, in fact, facing a sparsely populated bench of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil Rights, which has 14 members; nearly half of those members reportedly skipped the meeting. Behind him, seats were full of 9/11 first responders and their families, some of whom also gave testimony.
“Sick and dying, they brought themselves down here to speak to no one… shameful,” Stewart said, calling those absent lawmakers an “embarrassment to this country” and a “stain on this institution.”
He said he found it unthinkable that Congress would hesitate to reauthorize the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, which provides financial support for thousands of Americans who suffered serious medical issues due to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The fund was set to lapse at the end of 2020 unless Congress agreed to reauthorize it.
“Why this bill is not unanimous consent is beyond my comprehension?” he asked. “More of these men and women are going to get sick, and they’re going to die, and I’m awfully tired of hearing this is a ‘New York issue.’ Al-Qaeda didn’t shout ‘death to Tribeca.’ They attacked America.”
Stewart received a standing ovation in the room for his words, with the video going viral on social media.
Following his testimony, the House panel voted on Wednesday to unanimously approve the fund. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), will likely need to be scored by the Congressional Budget Office before it can get a full vote in the House, but is expected to pass, as the legislation has 313 bipartisan co-sponsors.
